...Re-Estize...
Renner stretched out with a smile on her face and her eyes glowing white as a pair of perfect clouds. She reached over next to her where Climb lay sleeping still and began to caress his chest. A little smirk formed from her first smile as she sat up and looked down at her puppy. 'Mine all mine all mine no more pretending no more risks no more thoughts of loss he's mine he's mine all mine and I'll never be without him again never never never never and I'll never let him go.' She obsessively thought to herself and let her hand drift lower over his sleeping form, his muscles barely gave under the slight press of her seemingly delicate fingers, and the wings began to emerge from her back ever so slowly. She put more into the one closest to the bed, easing her up and over him.
Her hand went lower, finding his body's desire already evident beneath the sheet, already waiting for her as she'd come to expect, since the slowly building level of experience taught her more and more lessons. She straddled him slowly, and holding him firmly yet gently where she needed him, she awakened him in one of his two favorite ways, with the feeling of ecstasy conquering from below, and with her lips pressing to his own.
He awakened quickly, and she arched herself back without a word to let Climb's hands roam over her body. "Yes... yes... yes it feels so good..." she whimpered out truthfully as his fingers proved to be a quicker study with her body than he had ever been with the sword.
Masculine groans came from his mouth, which did not stop until she flung herself down to him again and her angel wings wound their way under his body, which he arched to give them passage beneath, and their lovemaking became more urgent and ardent, and her cries became wild and loud.
He blushed as she rocked herself against him and unleashed a voice of ecstasy as loud as her body was beautiful. The whole palace probably knew this routine by now, of that he was sure. 'Let them listen, let them know.' Outer Guardian Renner thought maliciously. 'You can all know what I do with him, screw your propriety and fussing about royal blood, I'm the angel servant of a god, if it does not break his will I can do what the hell I want... come, complain, complain and I'll feed you to the hounds!' She thought with fury which then drove her to meet his thrusts all the more aggressively, she grabbed his chest with her hands and tightened her fingers, she felt muscle beneath, then a crack as she broke something within him.
It stopped neither of them, "Yes, Climb! Yes! Do it! Let... me have... our child...!" She screamed as a climax of bliss washed over her trembling form, and coaxed his own release in turn, whereupon, after what felt like forever, she fell into his waiting embrace his hands caressed her slender shape, from her waist, to her wings, to her slender arms which were, despite being much smaller than his, many, many times more powerful.
"Did I hurt you... my Climb?" Renner asked sweetly, 'I wonder how many beyond the door heard me ask to bear a peasant's child? I hope someone, I hope someone speaks against it, it's been awhile since I've been able to punish someone for the temerity of criticizing my puppy.' She closed her eyes to hide any hint of sadism that might appear even in the milky white glow, and he didn't see.
"A little." He gasped, "I think you just fractured two this time... hurts but... I can wait for the healing potion I... like resting here with you like this, everything I dreamed when I began to become a man and... it is here." He boldly reached up and touched her chin, taking it between thumb and forefinger, he brought her to face him, "This is all I ever wanted, and more than any man ever deserves."
"You expect me to argue, my Climb?" She asked sweetly, drawing her lips a hair's breadth away from his.
"No, never. I just feel a little guilty for wanting more... I cannot wait to add a child to the family but... what will your brother say?" Climb asked with a furrowed brow.
"What I tell him to, if it comes down to it, I represent the Sorcerer King's interests here, my brother will become accustomed to everything eventually. It may take time, but before you hold son or daughter in your arms, he will see your true worth when set against others, just like I did, just like 'she' did." Renner said with pride and confidence in her voice as she caressed the blonde beard that had started to emerge on his face.
"She?" Climb asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Queen Zesshi, you being 'you', setting yourself in contrast to the side she served, helped break her out of her old life. Renner snorted, "I'd be jealous, or concerned, but of course, well... you've mentioned her preferences." Renner laughed with amusement and put her arms at his side on the mattress, and pushed herself up and rolling over to let Climb rise.
As he slid his way off the side of the bed, he reached into the dresser beside him and took out a healing potion and quickly downed it, sighing with relief as it took effect and the cracked bones healed. "Are we going to the conference today, my Princess? Or... is there something else that must be done?" He asked as he rang a bell for a servant and reached for a robe.
"We are, Climb, and... I think I should bring Brain along." She said as she rolled over and slid out of the bed herself.
"Brain?" Climb looked over his shoulder as the servant opened the door. "Draw a bath, please." Climb said politely as Renner drew herself up behind him, she wrapped her wings and arms around his frame.
"Just one though... we'll share." She said in a dusky voice that made the maid... and Climb, blush a deep red.
As the maid withdrew, Renner continued, "Yes, you're not an appropriate bodyguard anymore, remember? You're the father of my child."
"Working on that at least." Climb said with a rare salacious joke that prompted a titter of laughter out of the golden princess.
"Yes well... he's at least currently the Royal Chief Warrior, since the King acceded to my wishes, or rather... yours. It's proper then that he should accompany us in the treasures of the Kingdom."
"As you wish, my princess, I'll go see him this morning. But if I may ask, why is it that we are attending? King Zanac is there after all."
Renner stepped back from him and went to retrieve a robe for herself, and as she slid her arms through the sleeves and wings through the slits in the back, she answered, "Because I am still a princess of this country, the sole heir of my brother, should he perish in these difficult times. Had we suitable ambassadors, we could send one of those, but other than the Marquis Raeven, well... it will be some time before we have rebuilt our administration."
"I see, well as you think best, Princess." Climb answered as the maid poked her head into the room, "The bath is drawn, princess and... my lord." She said uncomfortably.
Climb nodded, and the woman retreated as fast as she could. "I think we're going to have to give you an official title of nobility, like father intended to before." Renner said casually.
"As my princess wishes. But for now... the bath?" He asked as he held out his hand.
She placed her little slender fingers into his palm and savored the warmth of his hand closing around her own, "Yes, of course." She replied with her 'sweet face' radiant and bright before him. 'Never let go, I'll never let him let go... he's mine... mine forever...' She thought to herself with the joy of a demon with unlimited toys to play with.
...Nazarick...
Demiurge looked over the fragments of the object he'd spent so many hours working on. "I don't understand, why did you break? You should have worked."
"Still thinking about that thing?" Albedo asked as she entered his office without knocking.
"Yes." He said without looking up, his hands spread out over the table, hunched over it and gazing down intently, all he could do was ask it why and get no answer in return. "What brings you here?" He asked impatiently.
"Hoping for an answer myself." Albedo replied coolly. "That was going to be the way I could finally have a child with our lord, to produce an heir for Nazarick. And it broke to pieces."
"Well I don't have one to give you." Demiurge replied with annoyance.
"Any chance the crazy one you've taken to playing with has worked anything out?" She asked hopefully.
Demiurge ran his hand over his forehead as if to wipe away nonexistent sweat. "None. She's not as intelligent as I, but she's creative, very 'out of the box' in things, still however... this perplexes us both. As near as we can tell, the material itself is part of the problem, we need something new, so we're going to try it with new materials, lots of them, we'll find some way to make this work." He replied with calm obsession.
He took a deep breath, "How are things going at the conference?" He asked, eager for a change of subject.
"Interestingly at least, General Enri had a serious conflict with General Neia." Albedo said with a smile on her face like she'd just watched a grand drama play out. "She threatened to push for Neia to be put on trial and hanged."
Demiurge straightened up and stroked his chin, "So, is that his plan then?"
Albedo looked at him quizzically as Demiurge turned around to face her. "What?" She asked.
"I thought he planned to throw her away as a sacrifice at Prart, but he didn't, he pulled her to safety, and as usual his master plan far surpassed my own feeble efforts, she became a terrible force to be reckoned with out there, so perhaps now..." Demiurge began to drift off from speaking as he ran calculations through his mind.
"Now?" Albedo asked, bringing him back to reality.
He refocused on the Guardian Overseer, "Well, now she might make a better scapegoat than a General. The war is nearly over, his armies can win without her, to pacify the conquered realms, he may have her put to death. We know she'll accept the blame if it gives our lord the world. Perhaps this is what he prepared for her after all."
Albedo thought that over for a moment, from the few minutes of private conversation, to the Sorcerer King's actions toward her, and a different conclusion began to dawn. "No... I don't believe you're correct, Demiurge. I believe he is sincere in the way he treats her. I speak not as a Guardian, but as a woman and from a woman's heart, as I lay at night imagining how he would treat the child that I will surely bear for him one day, what I see, is how he has been treating her. I am certain he is not planning on her demise."
The iron confidence in her voice gave Demiurge pause. "Does it matter, will she really push for a trial?"
Albedo thought that over, "General Enri has done more than I thought possible for a human peasant, and more interestingly, she stood up to General Neia. Since the Pope has come into her role at Prart, nobody that I have seen has been able to argue with her like that, yet Enri did. I believe she may take the matter to Lord Ainz and request it. If she does, and he grants her request, it will make things very difficult with the elves."
"Yes... true, she's their hero, their champion. They'd riot if she were put on trial, let alone found guilty. It might also pose a problem with the subordinate nations, the Slane Theocracy had a lot of grudges against them, as far as most of them are concerned, Neia did them all a favor. So what do you propose?" Demiurge asked as he stroked his chin.
"The easiest thing would be to silence Enri, but she is under Lord Ainz's personal protection and he has not revoked it. Alternatively, we bury it all. Destroy the reports, lock down the city with our own forces as soon as the four armies currently there depart. And spread the stories of the atrocities of that city far and wide."
"So that people revel in what she did rather than condemn her for it?" Demiurge asked as understanding dawned.
"We won't have to work hard, humans are... creative at least. When it comes to suffering, their breaker schools, while only a pale imitation of Neuronist's skills, are still quite impressive... by human standards. Such as the way that they create pliant slaves with no will to resist, and keep them in great numbers." Albedo explained with seeming indifference.
"What about Neia herself?" Demiurge replied thoughtfully, "You know how she is. If she feels like what she did was a hindrance to her master, or broke the justice she believes him to embody, she won't let it go either. She may even beg for a trial all on her own."
Albedo rubbed her fingers together in a slow and easy fidget as she spoke pragmatically, "It shouldn't be hard to alter her memory, I read the report, she was clearly beyond reason, tell her she's needed for an experiment, and change her understanding of what happened, but if we do that... you have to keep your... assistant, away from her until the process is complete. I do not entirely comprehend what she says when she describes 'seeing guilt'. But somehow I do not think it will be Lord Ainz's will that Neia be given to Vanysa for punishment."
"It bears substantial thought... Lord Ainz's plans are so... many and so intricate, that I can barely comprehend a fraction of any one of them. What he will do with her is now the greatest mystery of all." Demiurge acknowledged with great discomfort as he folded his hands behind his back to disguise that they were tightly clenched in frustration. "What would you do with her, Albedo?" He asked hopefully.
"Have her exterminate the rest of the Slane Theocracy of course, such an act of terror would cow foreign nations that have yet to yield, and satisfy the many enemies they made for themselves. After that, sacrifice her and use her body as a reagent and create a suitable life from her that will never break loyalty and which will be able to serve Nazarick forever, and have the power for that to have true meaning. Much like was done with the body of the human woman."
"Yes, he did a marvelous job with Vanysa's remains." Demiurge agreed with a pleasant smile.
"Yes, but I was referring to General Oma. It was a stroke of genius to..." She looked at Demiurge with a knowing smile, "he didn't mention it, did he?"
Demiurge shook his head, "No... yet..." He slapped his cheeks with both hands and dragged his fingers down, pulling his flesh in frustration. "Will I never even see the base of the mountain of his genius?!"
Albedo touched his shoulder with one hand, and gave him a sympathetic smile. "None of us will. After he gathered her ashes, he restored her body in the shape of a dullahan, then teleported her corpse, stopped time, and cast his true resurrection, timing all three spells so that it would appear as if she was recreated from nothing. To make it even better, he called upon Calca to refer to the lie he'd told the paladins years ago after her death, when he said there was a chance she could resurrect as undead if it were done without a body." She clapped her hands together joyfully, and let out a breathy sigh of admiration.
Demiurge flopped himself down in a chair. "He planned all this back then... he must have, it's too perfect... I should expect nothing less, but he will never stop surprising me it would seem." Demiurge groaned. "While it brings me great joy, it also terrifies me, how can we live up to his standards, we must always fall so short... I dread the day he tires of our shallow efforts and..."
Albedo's eyes went wide as the moon and she thrust her hand to his mouth, covering his lips with two fingers, "Please... do not finish that sentence!" She begged ardently, "I cannot bear the thought... I try so hard not to think of... such a thing. Focus on your work Demiurge, he is a wise and forgiving Lord, and we are the children of his dear friends, he will not abandon us, I believe that, and you must also. Only work hard, and he will see how much you try, and forgive your failure to equal the unequalable."
Demiurge nodded solemnly, "I should return to my work, I need to make a list of items for my assistant to retrieve."
"Very well, I should return, Shalltear has been begging to come report to Lord Ainz personally. And I'm afraid I'm out of excuses to keep her at bay, but... that doesn't mean I'll give her time alone with him." She said with a wickedly competitive smile and drew herself up straight with enough force that her ample breasts bounced slightly.
"I wish you luck then." Demiurge said dryly, and got up to return to his work, barely noticing when she left.